Starting HST

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rattle104

New Member
I started HST last week. I had been doing a once a week per body part annihilation and that was taking up 5 days a week so i am going with HST to add cardio to two days and weights on the other three.

I started with 10's. I know it's not 100% on the guidelines but I fully plan to do the full 15/10/5 on the next round.

I think I may have gone a little overboard with my plan. I am doing one set of 10's per exercise on M/W/F. Should i do more sets and less exercises? After really reading all the posts I am thinking that might be the best approach. Psychologically it's hard for me to move away from the isolation exercises that I am so used to.

Squats
Deadlifts
Bent Over Row
Pull Ups
Dips
Shrugs
Leg Curls
Leg Extensions
Seated calf raises
Standing calf raises
Lateral Raises
Military press
Incline press
Flat bench press
Cable flys
Alternating bicep curl
Alternating tricep exercise


Please critique and let me know if this is something i can possibly maintain. Thanks!
 
sometimes Tot likes to be subtle...

in addition to simplify and win, check the FAQ regarding volume. glad to see you started a log though, looking forward to reading some training.
 
That's what I figured. I was excited to find a three day a week program that has such a following but I am having a hard time letting go of my isolations.

I have two programs I'm considering. I have read the posts about using less different exercises. If I do that one, would I do more sets? 3 sets?

I have thought about a 2 set A/B/A M/W/F set up with:
A:Squats
Bent Over Row
Pullups
Military Press
Flat Bench
Dips

B:Deadlifts
Standing Calf Raises
Pulldowns
Lateral Raises
Incline Bench
Dumbbell Flys
Curls
Skullcrushers

OR:

1-2 Set M/W/F with 2 sets of bicep curls added to Friday

Squats
Deadlifts
Bent Over Rows
Pullups
Military Press
Flat Bench
Dips
 
http://www.hypertrophy-specific.info/cgi-bin....;t=4628

^ how many sets and how to determine it

also, I like your first option, but I would take out the leg isos and add front squats. and I'd take out the chest isos and add bench (yeah, 3x a week on bench). but that's just me.

another option would be to read Lol's log and emulate it.
 
I like your last plan better myself. And you won't be missing the iso's when the weights start going up. Don't forget, it's 3x/wk...your muscles won't.
 
I am now on my second week of 10's. Tomorrow is supposed to be my last day of 10's before I move to 5's. However, I think i am going to do another week of 10's because it has taken me a while to really finalize my routine and get it structured the way I want. I think I now have a final workout that's appropriate. Plus I have some room to continue my progressive loading next week, especially on my squats, shrugs, and deadlifts plus I've got to add weight to my dips and chins.

6"4" 218lbs
about 21% bodyfat

Here is my workout in an A/B/A M/W/F split:

A:
Squats
Rows
Bench
Standing Barbell Press

B:
Deadlifts
Power Shrugs
Dips
Chins
Pullups


Here is my workout from yesterday. I plan to keep this journal going. I am excited about the possibilties.

Deadlifts 1x10x215 1x8x215 Walking Deadlifts
Power Shrugs 2x10x215
Dips 2x10xBodyweight
Chins 2x10xBodyweight
Pullups 1x4xBodyweight 1x10x20 lbs assistance Had to cluster

Walking deadlifts were somehting I saw on a website. It's where you start at the rack, pull the weight off, take two steps back, deadlift the weight all the way to the floor and back up, and then take two steps forward and put the bar back on the rack. That's one rep. No rest, immediatelly pull off the rack and do again. It had me spinning when I was done.

Critiques? Advice? Thanks!
 
Nice simplify and win workout. Why are you doing both chin and pullups both with 2 sets? They are basically the same exercise (very similar), maybe you should do 1 set of each or choose only one of them.
I personally didn't like the "walking deadlifts" when you are using a heavy weight, walking around with it sounds like a injury on the making.
 
I did both the chins and pullups because I do not have a dip belt to add weight yet and I feel like the pullups are tougher and challenge me a little more. I'll probably settle on one or the other as I go.

I don't plan on doing the walking deads too often, though It was a pretty intense workout.

Thanks for the advice.
 
Walking deads are probably OK if you plan on entering a strongman contest but then I reckon a farmer's walk would be a better option. Like electric, I think you might be more inclined to injure an ankle once the loads are heavy and some fatigue has set in. All the best.
 
Friday I really struggled with my workout. It was one of those days where I was making every excuse as to why I should skip my workout. I felt tired and weak. I forced myself to go and I put in a very subpar workout, but i guess it's better than not doing anything. I normally do legs first thing (squats or deadlifts) but they usually sap me pretty good and i knew if i did squats I would not have the energy to do anything else so i skipped my leg workout.

Bench 1x10x190 1x10x185 Clustered
Bent Over Row 2x10x135
Seated cable row 1x10x150
Seated Overhead Press 2x10x95
Chins 1x12xBodyweight

It was a really weak workout though in the past when i felt like this I'd usually just not go so going, even though it was fairly pathetic, was a victory, of sorts.......
 
After my weak and subpar Friday workout I was anxious to get back to a good workout on Monday. I felt good when i got to the gym but after the squats i felt like i'd just done HIIT for 30 minutes. My heart was racing and my body was beat. I cut the workout short and ended up just doing legs and back. I really hope I can get back in the groove on Wednesday.

Back Squats: 3x5x215
Front Squats: 1x10x135
Bent Over Rows: 1x10x135 1x10x145

After that I was dead tired and actually did not feel fully recovered until nearly six hours after the workout. Friday and Mondays workouts make me think I've got a little bit of a cold or some sort of bug. I have rested and taken it easy, even skipping my usual Tuesday cardio in hopes of having a good workout today.

Today I plan to do my last day of 10's and then go in to 5's. I plan on doing one set of my 10 rep max on every exercise from both my A and B routines today and then start the 5's on Friday with my usual A and B split. If my body cooperates, today should be a killer workout! I am near, or even over in some cases, my 10 rep max so i think it's time to move up.
 
Ok, just got back from my workout and the last two workouts were just flukes, I felt great today. I got my weight belt in as well and was able to incorporate weight in to my dips and chins for the first time.

Today's workout:

Deadlifts: 1x10x225 1x5x245
Power Shrugs 1x10x245
Bench 1x10x185
Push Press 1x10x105
Dips 2x10x45
Chins 1x10x10
Straight Bar Curls 1x10x95

Good solid workout!

I plan on starting the 5's on Friday. I am going to do 3 weeks of 5's. At that point I may do a week of 3's and then a week of 1RM to help set my base for my next HST cycle or I may skip the 3's and go straight to the week of 1 rep maxes. I guess it all depends on how I feel. After my 1 rep maxes I plan on doing a week to 10 days of SD while doing some high intensity cardio and then on to my 2nd HST cycle.
 
<div>
(rattle104 @ Apr. 30 2008,3:37)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I plan on doing a week to 10 days of SD while doing some high intensity cardio and then on to my 2nd HST cycle.</div>
Be careful with cardio during an SD, lest you chew up the muscles you've worked so hard to gain...
sad.gif
 
At 6'4&quot; 215, I figure I have about 15-20 lbs of fat that I can realistically lose and look nice and lean. Put me in the 10% range or so. However, i am gaining so much strength and size on this routine that I can't bear to skimp on my calories or do too much cardio because of the impact that would have. I hope to slowly cut a couple of pounds of fat over the next month and then do a one or two week SD where I really focus on cardio and fat loss and then go back to an 8 to 10 week program with more of my current focus.

My questions is, if this approach does end up chewing up some fat wouldn't i rebound and gain it all back and then some very quickly once I get back on HST and a higher calorie intake? If for example, I can drop 3 pounds of fat and 3 lbs of muscle and then within 2 to 3 weeks of my next HST cycle gain that muscle back due to muscle memory and more calories then if i can minimize any fat gain then i would have a nice net gain.

My caloric intake at this point is close to so called maintenance and is very high in protein, 250 to 300 grams a day.
 
Whilst your idea of dropping 3lbs of muscle and 3lbs of fat during a two week SD before hoping to put mainly lean mass back on again the following cycle might seem like it has some logic to it, I really don't think it's a good plan. Much better to maintain your gains during SD by eating at maintenance and then reduce cals to cut fat when you are lifting heavy loads again. So if you are going to cut you could start a cycle with 10s or, if you prefer to do a couple of weeks of 15s, eat at maintenance and then reduce cals (about 500 below maintenance) once you start 10s. Don't try to lose weight too quickly either. A pound a week is a pretty good goal if you want to hang on to as much of your lean mass as possible.
 
I started my 5's today. I was stressing that the weights on my first workout of 5's would be less than my last workout on 10's and that I'd be bored. However, I focused heavily on form and control. I also made sure i paused during each rep to focus on eliminating any possible momentum that can occur when you are doing higher reps with heavy weight. I feel like i got a lot out of this workout though the weights were slightly less than I have been accustomed to.

Back Squats-2x5x205
Front Squats-2x5x155
Bent Over Rows-1x5x135 2x5x145
Bench-3x5x175
Seated Press-3x5x95
Pullups-1x5xBodyweight
Seated Dumbbell Curls-2x6x35/arm
 
I worked out again today. I wanted to squeeze in another workout because Wednesday I leave for Vegas for a couple of days and I will not be working out while in Vegas.

Deadlifts: 3x5x225
Dips: 4x5x35
Chins: 2x5x10 1x5x25
Power Shrugs: 1x10x225 1x8x245 2x5x275
Concentration Curls: 2x5x35/arm
 
My workout today. Pretty intense.

Back Squat:2x5x225
Deadlifts:2x5x245
Bent Over Rows: 1x5x145 1x5x155 2x5x165
Standing Press: 3x5x100
Bench:2x5x185
Dips: 3x5x45
Pullups: 2x5xBodyweight
Standing Curls: 1x5x37.5/arm
Front/Lateral Raise superset:1x5x27.5/arm
Machine Flys: 1x8x170

I did a much larger workout than usual with a lot of different exercise due to the fact I felt so good and I will be out of town and unable to workout again until Saturday.

Do you all use a belt or not when doing heavy weight deadlifts and/or squats? I am getting up to a weight level where I wonder if I should be using one. Thanks.
 
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